The New American Menu and Other Fascinating News on the Web

We Are What We Eat

If America is a melting pot, then all the items in that pot will ultimately be rolled into a tortilla. It turns out that looking at what we eat is a great way to understand shifting American demographics. According to one market research firm, salsa outsells ketchup by a 2-1 margin. APtakes a look at the new American menu.

+ We’re not only seeing a shift in the foods we consume. We’re also seeing a shift in how those foods are named, packaged, and marketed. The labels are darker, the taglines pitch high protein, and there are lots of words like pro, power, and ultimate. What gives? Groceries have become a guy thing. “Manfluencers are responsible for at least half of the grocery shopping and meal preparation for their households.” I think the term manfluencers just made me lose my appetite.

+ “If you were still seething from the eruption of the 1960s, and thought that Reagan had ended all that, then the resilience of a pluralistic, multi-racial, fast-miscegenating, post-gay America, whose president looks like the future, not the past, you would indeed, at this point, be in a world-class, meshugganah, cultural panic.” Andrew Sullivan on the Tea Party as a religion.

Larry Flint’s Op-Ed

“I would love an hour in a room with him and a pair of wire-cutters and pliers, so I could inflict the same damage on him that he inflicted on me. But, I do not want to kill him, nor do I want to see him die.” From Larry Flynt: Don’t execute the man who paralyzed me.

iTunes for Windows?

There was a decision that changed everything when it comes to the computer industry. It came at a moment when Apple had about a 3% marketshare in the U.S. Then some execs at Apple decided to create iTunes for Windows. It was the butterfly that started the Apple tsunami. Interestingly, Steve Jobs was against the move: “We argued with Steve a bunch [about putting iTunes on Windows], and he said no. Finally, Phil Schiller and I said ‘we’re going to do it.’ And Steve said, ‘Fuck you guys, do whatever you want. You’re responsible.’ And he stormed out of the room.” Oddly, I just said the exact same things to my cats.

Stock in Professional Athletes

A new marketplace called Fantex will enable investors to purchase stock in professional athletes. And this isn’t a fantasy league. You are essentially buying a piece of a real person. The first IPO is Houston Texans’ running back Arian Foster. “Buying shares in the deal will give investors an interest in a stock linked to Mr. Foster’s future economic success, which includes the value of his playing contracts, endorsements and appearance fees.” Those who find that investing in Internet startups isn’t risky enough can now invest in something even riskier: NFL running backs (most of whom have a career span that strongly resembles that of Kozmo).

Weiner’s Internet Rant

Anthony Weiner thinks he would have been mayor had he run during a different era: “Maybe if the Internet didn’t exist?” Like, if I was running in 1955? I’d probably get elected mayor.” Either that or he’d be sending photos of his privates via Pony Express. From GQ: The Year of Living Carlos Dangerously.

How Cameras Produce Heroes

Want to get bystanders to help people in need? Here’s a tip: Install surveillance cameras. New research suggests that if people “believe their heroic or helpful action will be caught on camera, people who would otherwise remain passive have a strong incentive to ‘intervene to be seen.'”